1
as in played
to engage in activity for amusement
he spent his college years dallying, seemingly determined to acquire as little knowledge as possible
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2
as in lingered
to move or act slowly
don't dally on the way to the interview
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3
as in flirted
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
she spent the summer dallying with a guy renting the neighboring beach house
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4
as in dawdled
to spend time doing nothing
I kept dallying at my desk until I couldn't put off doing my work any longer
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for dallied
Verb
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The smallest nation by size (171 square miles) and population — 158,000, or twice the size of Arrowhead Stadium’s capacity — stood with all fans as the national anthems for both teams played.
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Dalal said their son played there daily with his friends, taking advantage of a club policy that allows children under five to enter without a membership.
Verb
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Yet, the same themes of access and power have lingered around the presidency in the eight decades since.
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The claim that creatine causes hair loss has lingered since 2009, shaping decisions for gym-goers and athletes weighing whether to add it to their routine.
Verb
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Banks first flirted with a version of the movie back in 2020, when it was set up at Universal.
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Antetokounmpo, the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2019 and 2020, has reportedly flirted with trade requests for much of the last year.
Verb
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Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off.
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Fava snuffled and dawdled and took her own sweet time up the sidewalk.
Verb
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Four years later — after the Broncos had toyed unsuccessfully with finding his replacement — Morton teamed with a new coach, his former Cowboys teammate Dan Reeves.
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Four years later — and after the Broncos had toyed unsuccessfully with finding his replacement — Morton teamed with a new coach, his former Cowboys teammate Dan Reeves.
Verb
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The theory here is that avarice and ambition can best be defeated by means of somebody else’s avarice and ambition; power’s inevitable corrupting effect is thereby mitigated or delayed.
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Automatic contributions, delayed payment windows, small rituals that add friction to impulse spending — these are all behavioral architecture moves, not acts of self-denial.
Verb
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In the living room, a tabby cat with a clipped ear lounged on a velvet couch, her front paws propping open an illustrated catalogue of military aircraft.
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The couple giggled between kisses and lounged on a red-and-white picnic blanket while overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Verb
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In that second leadership election, he was roundly defeated by Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist whose victory dragged the party leftwards.
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As the Bucks dragged their feet on the Antetokounmpo situation, a number of other teams gave up on the season entirely.
Cite this Entry
“Dallied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dallied. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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